Field Marshal Sir Alexander George Woodford, GCB,

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(15 June 1782 – 26 August 1870), was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer. After taking part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland, he served in most of the battles of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. During the Hundred Days he commanded the 2nd battalion of the Coldstream Guards at the Battle of Quatre Bras, the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

and the storming of Cambrai. He went on to become lieutenant governor and brigade commander at

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, lieutenant governor and brigade commander at Corfu and then commander of the British garrison on the Ionian Islands before being appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar.

Military career

Born at 30 Welbeck Street, London, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel John Woodford and Lady Susan Gordon (daughter of

Cosmo Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon Cosmo George Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon KT (27 April 1720 – 5 August 1752), styled Marquess of Huntly until 1728, was a Scottish peer. Life Gordon was the son of the 2nd Duke of Gordon and was named after his father's close Jacobite friend ...

), Woodford was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

and Royal Military Academy, Woolwich before being commissioned as an

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in the

9th (East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

on 6 December 1794. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the 22nd (the Cheshire) Regiment of Foot on 15 July 1795 and transferred back to the 9th (East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot in September 1799 before seeing action at the Battle of Alkmaar in October 1799 (where he was wounded) during the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland.Heathcote, p. 317 Promoted to

captain lieutenant Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army. Northern Europe Denmark, Norway and Finland The same rank is used in the navies of Denmark (), Norway () and Finl ...

on 14 December 1799, he transferred to the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

on 28 December 1799 and became aide-de-camp to Major-General Sir James Forbes in

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in 1803. He took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in August 1807 before rejoining Lord Forbes' staff in Sicily in March 1808. After returning London, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 8 March 1810. Woodford was deployed to

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in early 1811 and, after arriving at Isla de León, he took part in the Siege of Cádiz in March 1811, the

Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo Sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo are a series of sieges of the Spanish town Ciudad Rodrigo. Specific sieges are: * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1370) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1707) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1812) ...

in January 1812 and the Siege of Badajoz in March 1812 before also fighting at the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of Arapiles) on 22July 1812 was a battle in which an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces at Arapiles, ...

in July 1812 and the

Siege of Burgos At the siege of Burgos, from 19 September to 21 October 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese Army led by General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington tried to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of General of ...

in September 1812 during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. He commanded the 1st battalion of the Coldstream Guards at the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leadin ...

in June 1813, the

Siege of San Sebastián In the siege of San Sebastián (7 July – 8 September 1813), part of the Peninsular War, Allied forces under the command of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the city in a siege. However in a second siege the Alli ...

in August 1813 and the

Battle of Nivelle The Battle of Nivelle (10 November 1813) took place in front of the river Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops (20, ...

in November 1813 as well as the

Battle of the Nive The Battles of the Nive (9–13 December 1813) were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army defeated Marshal Nicolas Soult's French army on French soil ...

in December 1813 and the

Battle of Bayonne The Battle of Bayonne (14 April 1814) saw the French garrison of Bayonne led by General of Division Pierre Thouvenot launch a sortie against a besieging force of British, Portuguese, and Spanish troops commanded by Lieutenant General John ...

in April 1814. He was appointed an aide-de-camp to the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...

with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

on 4 June 1814. During the Hundred Days, Woodford commanded the 2nd battalion of the Coldstream Guards at the Battle of Quatre Bras, the

and the storming of Cambrai in June 1815. During the closing stages of the Battle of Waterloo, Woodford fought his way into the Château d'Hougoumont, one of the key landmarks on the battlefield, and then took command of it as the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

ordered a general advance on the French. Woodford was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 4 June 1815 and a Knight of the Austrian Military Order of Maria Theresa on 2 August 1815. He remained in command of his battalion when it formed part of the Army of Occupation of France. Promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

on 27 May 1825, Woodford became lieutenant governor and brigade commander at

in 1825 and lieutenant governor and brigade commander at Corfu in 1827. Advanced to

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

on 13 September 1831 and appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George on 30 June 1832, he became commander of the British garrison on the Ionian Islands (where he also briefly served as acting Lord High Commissioner) in 1832. He went on to be Lieutenant-Governor of

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in February 1835 and Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar in September 1836. Promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

on 28 June 1838, Woodford retired from active military service in 1843. Advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 6 April 1852 and having been promoted to full

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

on 20 June 1854, he became Lieutenant-Governor of the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse, the ancient sense of the word "hospital", it is a site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea. It is an ...

in September 1856 and was appointed to a Royal Commission to inquire into the system of Promotion and Retirement in the higher ranks of the Army in May 1863. Promoted to field marshal on 1 January 1868, he was raised to the office of Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in August 1868. He also served as colonel of the 40th Regiment of Foot and then as colonel of the

Scots Fusilier Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

. He died at the governor's residence at the Royal Chelsea Hospital on 26 August 1870 and was buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

Family

Woodford's father was descended maternally from Ralph Brideoake, a 17th-century clergyman who became

Dean of Salisbury The Dean of Salisbury is the head of the chapter of Salisbury Cathedral in the Church of England. The Dean assists the archdeacon of Sarum and bishop of Ramsbury in the diocese of Salisbury. List of deans High Medieval * Walter * Osbert ...

. In 1820 Woodford married Charlotte Mary Ann Fraser; they had two sons one of whom, Charles John Woodford, was killed at the

Siege of Cawnpore The siege of Cawnpore was a key episode in the Indian rebellion of 1857. The besieged East India Company forces and civilians in Cawnpore (now Kanpur) were unprepared for an extended siege and surrendered to rebel forces under Nana Sahib in ret ...

during the Indian Mutiny and is commemorated by a memorial stone in the floor of the north transept of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

The elder son, the Reverend Adolphus Frederick Alexander Woodford, left the Coldstream Guards for a career in the Anglican Church, later becoming a prominent historian of Freemasonry. Woodford also had a younger brother,

John George Woodford Major-General Sir John George Woodford, (28 February 1785 – 22 March 1879) was a British Army officer who has been called "possibly the first battlefield archaeologist". He served in the Napoleonic Wars, and in 1818, did archaeological work ...

(1785–1879), who enjoyed a similarly respectable military career. During this career, he fought in numerous battles in the

, including Waterloo, where some sources (''Medieval Dead'' with Tim Sutherland) state that he was the last living British officer to have served at the battle upon his death. He also contributed a large part to military reform in the nineteenth-century, particularly such acts as the abolishment of the

purchase of commissions The purchase of officer commissions in the British Army was the practice of paying money to the Army to be made an officer of a cavalry or infantry regiment of the English and later British Army. By payment, a commission as an officer could be sec ...

and certain punishment methods. He is also noted for the archaeological excavations that he carried out at the supposed battle-field site of

Azincourt Azincourt (), historically known in English as Agincourt ( ), is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is situated north-west of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise on the D71 road between Hesdin and Fruges. The Late Medieval ...

. His brother died at the age of ninety-four in Keswick in 1879.

References

Sources

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodford, Alexander George British field marshals Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Coldstream Guards officers Scots Guards officers People educated at Winchester College 1782 births 1870 deaths British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Recipients of the Waterloo Medal British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Governors and Governors-General of Malta Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Military personnel from London